1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a portable aircraft hangar. More particularly, the present invention relates to a portable canopy that is suspended over a helicopter""s rotor assembly.
2. Description of the Background Art
The use of portable hangars is known in the prior art. Portable hangars are used in situations where permanent fixed hangars are inaccessible and are designed to be easily and quickly installed with a minimum of effort. When installed, the hangars protect aircraft from unwanted environmental factors, such as heat, rain, and snow, and can also be used as camouflage to prevent unwanted detection of the aircraft.
An example of a portable hangar is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,613,0962 Pugh. The hanger of Pugh includes a sheet of protective covering material that is supported by the main rotor blade, which serves as a ridge-pole running forward and aft along an offset center line of the helicopter body. The protector further includes main rotor support holders, main rotor tie down means and a plurality of tension binding straps. The protective covering material includes a cap portion located in the center portion of the sheet that is adapted to fit over the governors or other parts on top of the main rotor drive system in a manner such that no stress is placed on these parts.
An additional portable hangar is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,179,9688 to Deichmann. Deichmann discloses a climatic heat aircraft protective (CHAP) screen that is especially for use with helicopters. The CHAP screen includes a containment bag that is used to compactly stow the screen prior to deployment and is additionally used to secure the screen to a helicopter""s rotor blade assembly during deployment. Tow ropes are included at the ends of radial deployment strips to facilitate securing the screen in a deployed condition. When fully deployed the screen is operative to reflect sunlight while allowing air to pass through there.
Although each of these prior systems achieves its own individual objectives, they both suffer from similar drawbacks. Namely, neither Pugh nor Deichmann disclose hangars which are adapted to be supported above the rotors of a helicopter. Moreover, neither of these devices is adjustable to accommodate varying aircraft sizes. Furthermore, these assemblies are complicated to deploy requiring several individuals to deploy and excessive amounts of time. Thus, there exists a need in the art for a portable aircraft hangar which can be supported above the rotors of an aircraft and which is readily adjustable and which is further easily deployable with minimal user effort.
It is therefore one of the objectives of this invention to provide a portable aircraft hangar which is designed to be suspended above the rotors of an aircraft.
It is also an object of this invention to provide a portable aircraft hangar that is fully adjustable such that it can accommodate aircraft of various sizes and shapes.
Still another object of this invention is to provide a portable aircraft hangar that can be easily deployed over an aircraft with minimal amounts of user effort.
These and other objectives are accomplished by providing a portable aircraft hangar assembly for use with an aircraft having a series of rotor blades and a bifilar dampener. The assembly includes a series of bifilar mounts, with the lower end of each mount being removably secured within the bifilar dampener. Each of the mounts further includes an upper free end. A cross support is used to interconnect the series of mounts.
The assembly further includes a canopy which is positioned over the rotor blades. The canopy is defined by a series of edges and upper and lower surfaces. A series of adjustment straps extend from each of the edges of the canopy, with each strap having a distal end and a coupling member secured along its length. The bifilar mounts are used in supporting the canopy over the rotor blades by positioning the upper ends of the bifilar mounts within a series of mounting holes formed within the lower surface of the canopy.
The assembly also includes a series of rotor sleeves that are positioned over the ends of each rotor blade. Each of these sleeves includes an adjustment strap and a coupling member secured thereto. The coupling members of the canopy are adapted to be interconnected with the coupling members of the rotor sleeves. An operator can then remove excess slack in the adjustment straps by pulling on the distal ends of the canopy adjustment straps.
The foregoing has outlined rather broadly the more pertinent and important features of the present invention in order that the detailed description of the invention that follows may be better understood so that the present contribution to the art can be more fully appreciated. Additional features of the invention will be described hereinafter which form the subject of the claims of the invention. It should be appreciated by those skilled in the art that the conception and the specific embodiment disclosed may be readily utilized as a basis for modifying or designing other structures for carrying out the same purposes of the present invention. It should also be realized by those skilled in the art that such equivalent constructions do not depart from the spirit and scope of the invention as set forth in the appended claims.